Economic and environmental crises are often in the
news, yet social innovation is growing at pace.

Collaborative consumption systems like Airbnb,
digital currencies like Bitcoin, local currencies like the Bristol Pound,
gifting systems like Impossible.com, and sharing systems like TimeBanks UK,
suggest that there could be a new paradigm emerging for how we organise our
economic lives in ways that could restore community and the
environment.

The aim of this Certificate of Achievement is for
you to understand why and how to create, scale and evaluate digitally-enabled
systems of “sustainable exchange”.

Sustainable exchange includes systems for giving,
sharing, renting, exchanging, and funding, with or without official
money.

We understand that this is the world’s first
Masters-level course on digital currencies and the sharing economy, and it is already
receiving international press coverage.

The course is taught as a four-day block on the
edge of the London Docklands financial centre, with structured online
interaction beforehand, and an assessment to study for and write
afterwards.

The first offering is in 2014,
but places are limited so apply early to avoid a delay of 6 months for the
following iteration. Course fees are £1,111.

If this module is taken standalone, there are no specific
entry requirements for this module but you must demonstrate that you are able to
study at the appropriate level.

To apply for the course click here. If you would like to
take this course as part of the new Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable
Leadership, click here. If you would like to apply
for a scholarship then the deadline is January 30th 2014 and details
on that are here.

We are currently accepting donations in digital
currencies and national currencies to be able to award scholarships for this
course. If you would like to support this initiative, please contact Professor
Jem Bendell: iflas@cumbria.ac.uk

On successful
completion of this course, you will be able to:

Critically evaluate the historical evolution of
different exchange systems.

Critically analyse the variety of sustainable
exchange systems and the potential and pitfalls of digitally-enabled
sustainable exchange systems

Effectively communicate the rationale for
sustainable exchange systems to a variety of stakeholders, with a critical
understanding of claims made about them

Describe and advise on the key factors for
designing, developing and managing successful sustainable exchange systems

Critically analyse the potential and current
impact of any sustainable exchange initiative for its ability to promote
sustainable production and consumption

Indicative Module
Content:

The history of exchange
and monetary systems, according to anthropology and contrarian economics.

The current monetary
systems and its implications for sustainable development

The variety of sustainable
exchange systems, both new and old, for giving, sharing, renting,
exchanging, and funding, with or without official money.

The potential and pitfalls
of digitally enabled sustainable exchange systems

The course begins in 2014, and requires two
visits to the Lake District, UK, of one week each, and then a module of
independent study.

Through sponsorship by the Robert Kennedy
College, there are scholarships for two students to have
their £3,333 fees paid. The scholarships are made through a competitive award
and are only open to UK or EU nationals only.

The scholarship provides the opportunity to study in the heart
of the Lake District National Park during two residential weeks.

To apply, complete the following
steps before January 30th 2014:

- Write an article of between 700-1200 words that
is published on a relevant online website (either through a publisher, an
internationally recognised newspaper or a relevant organisation, but not behind
a paywall). The article must be on one or more of the topics of the programme:
sustainable leadership, experiential learning, the sharing economy or community
currency. The article must mention at some point why courses like the PGC in
Sustainable Leadership, or its modules (such as the module “Sustainable
Exchange”) are important, and link to the course website: http://bit.ly/1hmTmyR.
The article must be published between December 9th 2013 and January
30th 2014. The article must
indicate that you are the author.

- Tweet the article title and web-link, including
the following text within the tweet: See #IFLAS course http://bit.ly/1hmTmyR

-Consider uploading the article as part of a
discussion on the IFLAS Sustainable Leaders Linked In group (accessible via the
menu icon at www.iflas.info)

-Send an email with your CV, a link to the article,
and less than 200 words explaining why you want to take the course and why you
need your fees to be paid. Email iflas@cumbria.ac.uk(do not contact individual judges).

Applicants will be informed of the decision before March 1st
2014.

Before applying, look at the programme description. Other
courses may be more relevant to you, such as our suite of MBAs offered with the
Robert Kennedy College, including the largest specialist sustainability MBA,
delivered online, with a block residential in the Lake District.

The Judges

Leander Bindewald, New Economics Foundation

Richard Little, Impact International

Philippa Chapman, Institute for Leadership and
Sustainability

David Connor, 3BL Media and Just Means

Professor David Costa, Robert Kennedy College

Dr Audrey Sleight, University of Cumbria

Professor Jem Bendell, Institute for Leadership and
Sustainability

Please note that individual judges cannot vote for someone
they work with, live with or are related to.

Monday, 4 November 2013

IFLAS director Jem Bendell will give his Inaugural Professorial Lecture at Keswick'sWords by the Water literary festival on March 14, 2014.

Prof Jem Bendell, director of IFLAS

Prof Bendell has been invited to deliver the prestigious annual Derwentwater
Lecture, organised in association with the Keswick Fair World Alliance, and supported by Impact International and the Cumberland Building Society.

The Lecture

How do we know what to do in a world we perceive
as unfair, difficult and threatened, yet simultaneously beautiful, inspiring
and unfolding?

What can we learn from old and new, local and
global, the personal and professional?

What if we are guided by love, not fear?

What if we are more honest with ourselves
and each other about what’s not working, and what we really wish for?

A Professor of Sustainability Leadership, and
Founding Director of the Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS),Jem Bendell has worked on business and sustainable development
for almost 20 years, in business, government and civil society, as well as
academia.

In 2012, the World Economic Forum appointed him a Young Global
Leader, in recognition of his work on cross-sector alliances for sustainable
development.

In his academic work he traversed political science, sociology,
development studies and management studies, as he saw how ‘disciplines’ restrict
creativity and relevance in a world that urgently needs breakthrough ideas for
our common good.

In his Inaugural Lecture, Professor Bendell will share
insights from this intellectual journey on the causes and solutions to social
and environmental degradation.

In particular he
will describe how his worldwide, multi-sectoral and trans-disciplinary
exploration of the causes and solutions to unsustainability led him to focus on
innovations in ways of exchanging and sharing without money.

A consultant to
the United Nations since 1996, in 2013 he co-organised the first UN conference
on complementary currencies.

He is now a leading commentator on that topic, discussing
it on Al Jazeera, for the Guardian, and with his TEDx
the most-watched online talk on complementary currencies.

He
is developing a research and educational programme on these topics at the
institute he founded at the University of Cumbria in the UK. www.cumbria.ac.uk/iflas

The Evening

4pm - Arrivals

4.15pm - 5.15pm: Inaugural Professorial and Derwentwater
Lecture. On the theme “Exploring Sustainability” (introduction by the University
and organisers of the Derwentwater Lecture)

5.30pm - 7pm: Drinks reception, the Circle Gallery, with the University
of Cumbria Honorary Fellows as guests of honour (by invitation only)

Tickets and Travel

The Theatre by the Lake, Keswick. Photo: Steve Barber

The lecture takes place at the Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, at 4pm on Friday, March 14, 2014.

A small number of tickets are available for staff and
partners of the University. Minibuses will be travelling to and from Ambleside
on the day. For information, email iflas@cumbria.ac.uk

Other festival talks on the day can be attended at 11am,
12.45pm, 2.30pm, 5.30pm and 8pm.

More information on buying a ticket for those
talks or the Inaugural Lecture will be available on the festival website.

Monday, 28 October 2013

Jonathan Robinson is a social entrepreneur, writer
and anthropologist. He is co-founder of The Hub,
the place for people with world-changing ideas.The Hub sought to borrow from
the best of a members club, a business incubator, an innovation agency and a
think-tank to create a very different kind of institution.

Jonathan Robinson, founder of The Hub

Hubs can be found
all over the world, in places as diverse as London, Amsterdam, Johannesburg,
Singapore, Sao Paulo and Mumbai. Hundreds of new social enterprises have been
created by providing creative and purposeful shared working spaces.

As government agencies and others seek to promote entrepreneurship,
often through the creation of such working spaces, what can we learn from what
has been successful worldwide in enabling social enterprise?Jonathan’s free open lecture is the fourteenth public event organised by
the new Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (www.iflas.info).
Register by emailing iflas@cumbria.ac.uk

The lecture takes place at the Charlotte Mason Building on the University of Cumbria's Ambleside Campus from 5pm to 7pm on Tuesday, November 12.

Friday, 4 October 2013

Kresse Wesling, co-founder of Elvis & Kresse, will deliver a lecture entitled 'Impact Entrepreneurship, Accidentally Fashionable' as part of the IFLAS open lecture series.

Kresse is an environmental entrepreneur. Love of the environment has infiltrated all aspects of her life.

The evolution of her career has been about an ever-increasing commitment to planet and people. She builds businesses that both make money and have a positive impact on the environment.

Her work was recently recognized when she won 2007's Shell Entrepreneurial Woman of the Future Award.

In 2002, Kresse founded Bio-Supplies, an environmental packaging alternatives company. In 2004 she launched this business in the UK.

Two years later, she started Babaloo, a company that produces a host of ethical and environmental products for parents and babies.

In 2007 Kresse launched her third business, Elvis and Kresse, which turns industrial waste into innovative lifestyle products and returns 50% of profits to charities and organisations related to the waste.

Elvis and Kresse's first line is made from decommissioned fire hose. Half of the profits from this line are donated to the Fire Fighters Charity.

The lecture takes place at the Charlotte Mason Building on the University of Cumbria's Ambleside Campus from 5pm to 7pm on Tuesday, October 15.

Tuesday, 1 October 2013

London is home to many organisations promoting environmental conservation and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as well as a campus of the University of Cumbria.

Therefore the team of the Institute for Leadership
and Sustainability (IFLAS) travelled to London to celebrate our foundation.

Our
host was the Royal Geographical Society, chosen for its role in the history of
adventure and exploration, which are key themes for IFLAS’s approach to
leadership and sustainability. A diverse audience of around 300 executives from business,
government, academia and the voluntary sector heard a range of speeches that
called on us to meet the challenge of sustainability with a new spirit of
adventure.

Our host, RGS Vice President Paul Rose, explained how the Institute
approaches “sustainability” as a goal that requires a major change in our way
of life. He introduced Ed Gillespie, co-founder of communications advisors
Futerra, who shared insights from his travel around the world without flying.
Then our senior lecturer Dr Kate Rawles described her adventure in cycling
across the USA, talking to locals about climate change.

Best-selling author of
books on wild swimming, Daniel Start, then discussed the value of wilderness in
bringing us perspective.

The founder of IFLAS, Professor Jem Bendell, then discussed the need for the sustainability professionals to be bolder in their change strategies, so that they relate to the scale of the problems faced.

Lord Hastings concluded the proceedings with congratulations to the University for its bold move to combine leadership and sustainability with a critical yet positive agenda. A video of highlights is available at the top of this page.

This year, the Institute’s director Professor Jem Bendell has delivered keynote talks on the future of currency in Switzerland (at the UN), Netherlands, China, and the Philippines, and soon in Russia and Australia. He also presented at the head office of BT on experiential learning for leadership development.

In September the global management development firm Impact International and IFLAS launched their partnership at the Royal Society of Arts, attended by senior managers in De Beers, Red Cross, and Thomson Reuters, amongst others.

The partnership will roll out a portfolio of short courses in 2014, and a new joint offering for leadership development by engaging stakeholders. More information on that partnership is available at www.impactinternational.com/iflas

Also in 2014 IFLAS launches a Post Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Leadership, which targets professionals with some experience in this field, who want to benefit from the University’s 100 year prowess in experiential learning at the Ambleside Campus, to help guide their future vocation.

Active engagement with sustainability professionals is important for us at IFLAS, and we seek this in person via an Open Lecture series with senior executives, and online via our LinkedIn group (with over 600 members).

Monday, 2 September 2013

How do countries compare in the ethical and environmental
practices of their largest firms? How are stock markets responding to the
challenge of climate change, corruption, poverty and human rights abuses? What
is the United Nations’ view on the future of voluntary corporate responsibility
efforts? How can governments help? What kind of international leadership is
needed?

In the first IFLAS open lecture of the academic year, we host a senior United
Nations official to address these questions. Dr Anthony Miller is Economic
Affairs Officer with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD). He is UNCTAD’s focal point on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR),
and a coordinator of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, launched
by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for signatory stock exchanges to encourage
responsible investment http://www.sseinitiative.org/ Dr Miller served as an expert in
the ISO Working Group on Social Responsibility and is a regular participant in
the ICC and the OECD working groups on CSR. His on-going work includes research
projects on corporate governance disclosure in emerging markets, the CSR
practices of transnational corporations, and the responsible investment
practices of institutional investors. Prior to joining UNCTAD, Dr Miller was an
executive in the automotive industry with postings in India, Singapore and
China. An American citizen based in Geneva, Dr Miller holds a Ph.D. from
Cambridge University, UK. He will become the co-chair of the new Advisory Board
for the Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS) at the University
of Cumbria. His most recent reports can be found at www.unctad.org/csr

The open lecture is on October 1st from 5pm to 7pm,. at the Charlotte Mason
Building, Rydal Road, Ambleside. Attendees of the open lecture will include the
Institute’s international students that study the MBA in Leadership and Sustainability,
offered in partnership with the Robert Kennedy College. Forthcoming open
lectures include James Gifford, Founder Director of the UN Principles for
Responsible Investment (22nd October) and Jonathan Robinson, Founder of The
Hub, a global network of social enterprise offices and incubators (12th
November). The full programme of open lectures will be announced later this
month, and will all be between 5pm and 7pm at the University of Cumbria’s
Ambleside Campus in the Lake District on: 15th & 22nd October and 12th
& 26th November.

Friday, 2 August 2013

At a conference on women’s leadership, IFLAS Director, Professor Jem Bendell, spoke about the role of education in enabling the critical thinking that is necessary for leadership. He explored the relevance of the approach of Charlotte Mason, who founded our Lake District campus in 1892. In the talk he challenges participants to question their assumptions in order to drive change, rather than just "succeed" within existing systems that are damaging people and planet. He reveals one famous activist was home schooled, and what his mother thinks of education.